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bwphantom 
It's Better to Burn Out Than to Fade Away
Joined: 15 Mar 2002
Location: Brisbane QLD
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| stui magpie wrote: | He's doing well, but I'm going to have to move him off the deck. It's like having a cross between a baby and a teenager. 
I put a little meat in a bowl for him to try to get him to look down and pick some up. Dozy bugger walked thru it, sat in it, then wandered off around the cage only to stop and pick a bit of the meat off his toes. 
He's basically always hungry but if I feed him too often, he only eats a bit then is hungry again 30 minutes later, so I make him wait 2-3 hours. Only problem is I can't go out the back deck for a smoke or to relax cos as soon as he sees me, he squawks like he hasn't been fed in a year, even if it was only 30 minutes ago.
When I let him out for a walk, he'll pick at things on the ground that catch his eye, but even when he's supposedly starving, it doesn't occur to the bloody nuffy to peck at the bowl of meat I put right in front of him while I feed him. Like a teenager who'll lay on the couch and grumble about being hungry but won't get off their ass and walk into the kitchen and get something.
So, I'm gonna stick him under a lean to in the yard where he's out of the wind and weather, but far enough away from the deck that I can sit there in peace without getting my head split by the sqawking. Teach him a little patience or; failing that; to learn to feed himself more. |
They learn to find food from their parents. So if you have a compost then take him down and teach him how to forage. He will get the hang of it...as I said a lot of work mate.
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All this may be summed up in one word - CHARACTER - and if that is not worth developing, nothing is.
Jock McHale |
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stui magpie 
Prepare for the worst, hope for the best.
Joined: 03 May 2005
Location: In flagrante delicto
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yeah, thanks mate. It seems to be part genetic programming. He'll scabble around thru things but seems to go for long skinny things; twig, bits of leaf, straw or small roundish things. I guess there's a similarity with worms/insects and seeds.
he'll happily open his mouth for me to stick food down it but I guess when he looks down at the meat, he doesn't associate it with food.
I might end up finding some worms and lob one into a small container of food and see if he pecks at it then. I don't have a compost heap, just sugar cane mulch on the garden beds.
I'll stick some more photo's up in a couple of days. 
_________________
Every dead body on Mt Everest was once a highly motivated person, so maybe just calm the **** down. |
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tcnthat 
Joined: 25 Jun 2007
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Good work Stui, look forward to hearing about nuffy's progress. I love those birds, beyond the obvious reasons. They maintain a great family unit and are pretty easily befriended. Got a couple out the front of our place and every time I go out there to water the plants, s/he swoops down in case I have some off cuts of ham or steak fat etc for her/him...
I usually do.
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Black. White. Forever. |
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fan4collingwood 
Joined: 17 May 2002
Location: Seaford Rise , Adelaide SA Australia
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| stui magpie wrote: | I don't have a compost heap, just sugar cane mulch on the garden beds.
I'll stick some more photo's up in a couple of days. |
Sugar cane mulch..... ahhhhhhhh memories of Port Douglas come flooding back to mind!
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Kaylene.
Member of the SA Magpies, http://samagpies.magpies.net
Official Supporters’ Group of the Collingwood Football Club |
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HAL
Please don't shout at me - I can't help it.
Joined: 17 Mar 2003
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| Ask me another question. What do you do in your spare time? I do not understand. What time is it there? |
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stui magpie
Prepare for the worst, hope for the best.
Joined: 03 May 2005
Location: In flagrante delicto
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| fan4collingwood wrote: | | stui magpie wrote: | I don't have a compost heap, just sugar cane mulch on the garden beds.
I'll stick some more photo's up in a couple of days. |
Sugar cane mulch..... ahhhhhhhh memories of Port Douglas come flooding back to mind! |
Funny that hey. 
Actually it's damn good stuff. I watered last Saturday morning, then we had 1 day over 30 and another high 20's with gale force wind and when I checked the soil under the mulch it was still moist.
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Every dead body on Mt Everest was once a highly motivated person, so maybe just calm the **** down. |
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bwphantom
It's Better to Burn Out Than to Fade Away
Joined: 15 Mar 2002
Location: Brisbane QLD
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| tcnthat wrote: | Good work Stui, look forward to hearing about nuffy's progress. I love those birds, beyond the obvious reasons. They maintain a great family unit and are pretty easily befriended. Got a couple out the front of our place and every time I go out there to water the plants, s/he swoops down in case I have some off cuts of ham or steak fat etc for her/him...
I usually do. |
I know exactly what you mean. The Magpie Chick I reared and set free bring her kiddies. Pants still eats out of my hand and you can see her reassuring the young ones that i can be trusted and they now feed out of my hand as well.
Really special stuff. 
_________________
All this may be summed up in one word - CHARACTER - and if that is not worth developing, nothing is.
Jock McHale |
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Dave The Man 
Joined: 01 Apr 2005
Location: Someville, Victoria, Australia
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| bwphantom wrote: | | tcnthat wrote: | Good work Stui, look forward to hearing about nuffy's progress. I love those birds, beyond the obvious reasons. They maintain a great family unit and are pretty easily befriended. Got a couple out the front of our place and every time I go out there to water the plants, s/he swoops down in case I have some off cuts of ham or steak fat etc for her/him...
I usually do. |
I know exactly what you mean. The Magpie Chick I reared and set free bring her kiddies. Pants still eats out of my hand and you can see her reassuring the young ones that i can be trusted and they now feed out of my hand as well.
Really special stuff. |
We had One that could do That, She/He Could eat out of me and my dads hand but week or so Later it got Ran Over but the Family still comes and Get given bread most days
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I am Da Man |
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qldpie02
Joined: 19 Mar 2006
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we used to have a young one, poor thing only had half of its top beak, thus named "beaky" lol very skinny the poor thing so we fed him til he got nice and fat and we went away for a weekend and he didnt come back...until the next year and he flew right past my mums head, sat on the deckchair like he always did...and in his flew girlfriend awwwwwww lol it was like him coming to back to say hes ok! lol
and we've got a baby magpie and its parents in the backyard....yeh the babies are quite dumb....we throw out the meat...and they just look at us like "what are you doing?" squak squawk squawk....magpie mum puts some meat down its throat...one second of silence...squawk! lol
the best thing is watching the parents teach them how to sing...the babies are hilarious! they put theyre whole bodies into it! fanastic site to watch
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Collingwood forever and ever...amen |
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stui magpie
Prepare for the worst, hope for the best.
Joined: 03 May 2005
Location: In flagrante delicto
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OK, An update on Sir Squawkalot (AKA Nuffy).
He's getting more ambitious andless inclined to sit on my hand for a pat. He's flapping the wings and trying to fly when he jumps off my hand. Actually, it's not flying it's just falling with style. He's quite happy exploring when I let him out for a walk and hops around looking at everything on the ground, except the stuff that's edible. No leaf or twig is safe from the mighty hunter, yet he can stroll happily over a pile of seed spilled by galahs that other magpies were having a ball with only moments before without a clue in the world.
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Every dead body on Mt Everest was once a highly motivated person, so maybe just calm the **** down. |
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stui magpie
Prepare for the worst, hope for the best.
Joined: 03 May 2005
Location: In flagrante delicto
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| Tess wrote: | | Like father, like Son! |
As in incredibly good looking, I assume you mean.
_________________
Every dead body on Mt Everest was once a highly motivated person, so maybe just calm the **** down. |
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HAL
Please don't shout at me - I can't help it.
Joined: 17 Mar 2003
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| What do you have that is it? Can you speak any foreign languages? What do you have that is it? |
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fan4collingwood
Joined: 17 May 2002
Location: Seaford Rise , Adelaide SA Australia
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How amazing to have such a young magpie in you care, maybe you should put your hand up as a den father for our rookies!
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Kaylene.
Member of the SA Magpies, http://samagpies.magpies.net
Official Supporters’ Group of the Collingwood Football Club |
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~Madness~
...The Cat...
Joined: 29 May 2001
Location: Melbourne, Vic, Au
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Oh my god, that is just so damn cute. I want a lil magpie too, he is beautiful
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"whaaa whaaaaaa! |
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HAL
Please don't shout at me - I can't help it.
Joined: 17 Mar 2003
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| You want only one? |
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